


But Little By Little...

by Bana_Bhuidseach



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), supercorp - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, Kara Danvers Has a Crush on Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers Loves Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers is a Ray of Sunshine, Kara Danvers isn't Supergirl, Lena Luthor Loves Kara Danvers, One Shot, Short One Shot, Slow Burn Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, painter au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-02
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:09:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23961295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bana_Bhuidseach/pseuds/Bana_Bhuidseach
Summary: This one-shot was inspired by a Miguel Bose (a Spanish singer) song, called "Solo pienso en ti" (I only think of you)...Basically about a painter that cannot draw this one person's portrait, because they are way too immersed into them and cannot find the proper way of portraying them on the canvas nor the colors that establish that person's essence.It is quite short... Maybe I would like to delve into it later on... but I am not sure.I just craved some soft glowing longing
Relationships: Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	But Little By Little...

Soft golden, early morning, light filters through rays that mark the path of lazy dust motes. 

The whole studio’s temperature is the crispy cold that slowly melts away, as midday approaches. Marking the cusp of summer turning into fall. 

The white painted brick walls are covered on sheets of paper, hanged paintings, and whims of graphite, acrylic, and oils. The window is cluttered with cans of paint, unused material, and other finished works that just accumulate and overlap.

There is a strong smell of a mulberry candle that burned through the late hours of the night. 

A blonde woman enters trying to equilibrate a sketchbook, phone, bag, keys, and cupholder with two fuming macchiatos while keeping the heavy door open. Her glasses hang by the tip of her nose and the bangs are poking at her eyes. She needs to get them trimmed soon. To her dismay, the phone starts buzzing with an incoming call. She runs straight to an overstuffed wooden table and unloads, the phone gets a bit lost underneath the chaos, she starts to get anxious about missing the call. She finally finds it underneath between the sketchbook pages and presses the green button.

“Hi?, oh yeah, of course, I am already here… no, it is not a problem at all… alright, yeah, you don’t have to ... already got coffee. Okay, bye…”The coffee in question is carefully set over another table, the clutter is urgently organized and the painter feels extremely anxious. She tries to remind herself she is nervous because this is an extremely important client not because at the back of her head there is this tingle, that the voice of the woman makes her feel, that runs all over her nerves. 

_Come on Kara focus…._

She remembers once her sister told her to try and breathe slowly, not let her feelings overwhelm her senses. Just as she is about to calm down and get rid of the tingle, the bell rings. She runs and almost trips over one of her stools, she manages to open the door and hopes she doesn’t look too disheveled. Just enough to appear artsy... ew. 

The woman in front of her is wearing a casual gray dress over a black shirt with decorated sleeves and a pair of high heels, a blue coat hangs from her elbow, and a slouchy tote bag hangs open by her shoulder, where she was just putting something away.She looks up and her eyes are a beautiful green they are clear as polished sea glass, the color of the lustrous gardenia leaves, perhaps like green bronze… or all those and others. Contrasting were her lips, a caramel-like red.She really should stop these metaphors... they always rushed in her head when excited and when craving to find the right color.

Before she could appreciate furthermore a hand was stretching out to greet her with a genuine if shy smile. Realizing she had zoned out, her tanned hand shots up to receive the pale one, and gives perhaps too tight a squeeze. 

“Lena, we talked on the phone” 

“Yeah, ah… Kara, - her client arches an eyebrow-, but you already knew that” she is stammering for some dumb reason and so she has to look away, to compose herself. “So a please take a seat, the coffee is over the table if you are interested’ The woman- Lena, Mrs. Luthor moves towards the steaming cup and so Kara takes a couple of restoring breaths and seats. The jersey she is wearing suddenly feels a bit too warm and tight

“So, Mss Luthor,” she clears her throat. 

“Oh so formal, please call me Lena,” says with another smile, and crossing her legs. It takes all the willpower and shyness in Kara’s body to make her not look at her calves. 

She can feel the tip of her nose blushing and her lips tugging at a smile “OK” She stands up and opens one of the windows letting some of the candles stuffed air go. 

“I hope I am not disturbing you, I know I got here a bit early…” Lena is looking around with clear curiosity in her eyes. 

Kara’s hand goes up to fix her glasses and then automatically her sloppy ponytail. “Not at all, there was nothing to do anyway but wait for our appointment…besides, it is good since I had already gotten the coffee” to which she takes a tiny sip. It had been so foolish to get two of them, knowing very well it would get cold,fortunately, that didn’t get to happen. 

The beautiful woman fidgets and scoffs “To be perfectly honest I am super anxious about all this, self-conscious even” She moves her ringed hand while talking, probably just a normal habit, to accompany her words with hand gestures. 

Between blissful sips of an overly sugared coffee, Kara asks “Why is that?” 

“I feel a bit narcissistic, I suppose” her green eyes travel downwards as if looking closer to what she is wearing “I also don’t know how to feel about being stared at for so long”her hands travel over the coat caressing it. That is the second time that Kara’s gaze observes her hands, she is quite aware, and yet she cannot bring herself to stop looking at them, the desire to draw them, sketch them cannot be helped. She aches to start the portrait as soon as possible. 

“There is nothing to feel awkward about… I promise it won’t be that harrowing. I could take a picture if you want and base myself on that” In her mind, she was scolding herself for giving away that option. 

Lena’s eyes gave away that she was putting thought into it, they got lost in thought, Kara trying to find a pencil, how ludicrous... instead she ends up perusing thoroughly her music library on her phone, and finally gave up on shuffle.

Soft music starts playing and it seems to encourage Lenafor she ends up saying 

“No… I want to be a part of the process…” 

“Alright let’s get to work! So we don’t keep wasting your time away” Kara set into a frenzy preparing her space, she had a ritual of sorts to get concentrated, “so how do you exactly want the portrait?” 

“I was open to suggestions…what would be your way to work best?” She takes her coffee and looks straight into her eyes with a more confident grin. 

A phone starts ringing and Lena plunges a hand into her purse to get it. “I am sorry- she looks up with an apologetical look that softens every fraction of her face-

Kara nods with a shy smile to reassure there is no problem. Most clients wouldn’t care they will usually just take the call, or they would have just left a picture and left. How she hated making some of the commissions and the fact she needed them to pay rent, her art wasn’t selling as she hoped to sustain her and the studio... she was lucky Alex sometimes pitched in. 

Lena’s anxious, cute and shy attitude, melts and transforms, it hardens with confidence and a raised eyebrow. Her voice turned languid and hushed, one that made you concentrate even further into what she had to say. She had passed to the end of the studio, the floorboards creaked under her soft steps. She finally hangs up and Kara has started to assemble her materials and oh thank goodness all pencils decided to appear... 

"Well, why don’t you try a few poses until you find one you feel most comfortable....”

Time passes and the artist’s hands sketch away... starting with Lena’s basic posture and working on the volume from there, focusing on each feature with a strange devotion... 

Until she has to go. Kara feels disappointed... she technically wouldn’t need another session until next week. 

"So I’ll see you Friday?" That was two days from now... the blonde head perks up sheepishly 

"Sure ! See you then, I’ll get to work right away so you can start seeing results..” 

"Oh please do not feel any pressure darling"Lena winks at her and leaves.

....

The commission starts to turn into a problem, she wants to paint all of this woman, every curve and angle. The first sessions prove fruitless since they keep changing the posture or light exposure until Kara ends with tons of rough drafts, then Lena has to leave for a couple of weeks on a business trip. 

Yet during that time, Kara starts mindlessly to sketch weird things like the lines of Lena’s palm over napkins of the edges of documents like her electricity bill. Then she spends time overnight at the studio, after finishing other small projects, she keeps drawing small part of the brunette, her eyes, her neck, the long hair falling over her shoulders. At first, they are just charcoal sketches and then the ominous new problem arises...one that had planted on her mind since day one 

Color 

All palettes seem useless, so she, purchases some more... , then she changes technique, it is not enough; she even shares this issues with Lena herself over text, hoping to not sound too crazy but overly dedicated, they’ve been doing that now, texting, she sends sometimes the progress of her sketches, or a funny thing she did with Alex or a pretty picture she took of something Lena sharing anecdotes from work and a million apologies for been away so long, as well as some rare selfies... just so the memory of her stays fresh. 

She finally gives up and intends on giving it a try at making her own tinctures

When she is about to head out the door she finds an about to knock Lena standing on the hall. Who is holding two cups of cold brew ‘ Lena!’ Kara squeaks. 

The woman gives her a broad smile... pleased with startling her. 

‘ I just got back and thought I might pay you a visit” she offers the coffee in a sign of apology... 

"Oh but you must be tired... you didn’t have to .." Kara takes the cup and brushes accidentally the tip of her fingers the sensation of them remains on her fingertips while she tries to regain composure, something that seems to be turning into a habit. 

"Actually I was just about to head and try to find some rare materials on the art district will you liketo accompany me?”

"Add lunch and you’ve got a date" Lena’s smile quirked up... 

Kara let out a small nervous laugh "sure" she shrugged then added adjusting her glasses "wait.. what?"

The brunette turns to hide a soft blush creeping from her neckline "come on Danvers we have a portrait to paint"and so the blonde followed behind trying to catch up... she felt weirdly out of shape and sort of floaty. 

——- 

Days pass by 

Lena doesn’t seem to mind that the canvas stays blank. 

Kara seems to be unable to achieve the portrait... after studying the woman. Colors seem to stay missing and/or lacking. The pages of the sketchbook burst with snippets of her, and it is overwhelming. She can only think of Lena, Lena Lena... 

Yet the woman keeps coming and posing with extreme patience... hours fly by. 

They get distracted by lunch dates, coffee escapades, and random errands... 

Meanwhile, the studio fills up slowly with small-sized canvases mainly focused on the color of her hair or the iridescence of her eyes. 

The mindless sketching continuous to be a thing; while Kara watches TV or listens to her family and friends... 

_How could I capture her smile?_

_How can I portray her stare...?’_

_Only little by little_

Alex starts to worry realizing almost every surface in her sister’s apartment is covered in pencil or chalk lines... 

——- 

Once when they finally set on a pose and Kara starts working on the portrait, Lena decides to stay and walk around the studio... she looks at every sketch, draft, and a sample of the color. Part of her tingles, at the thought of someone paying such excruciating attention to her... 

by now the attention bothers her less and less, she has started to enjoy it... and she knows she likes it because of whom it is coming. The artist's attention is like a ray of sunshine that thaws her skin and makes her feel comfortable. Like lying over a bed of grass with no worry. 

She turns to look at her now and see how she works away, her eyes deeply focused, her body playful reaching for the needed materials... Kara even seems to be muttering something to herself. 

Lena decides to walk up to her and sneak up behind her... no hard deed since Kara seems lost into the painting. 

She bends over her shoulder softly, placing lightly a hand over her shoulder, she feels the soft worn fabric of Kara’s flannel shirt, she smells like amber and sandalwood. 

"Darling, would you like some water?" She whispers into her hair at that Kara jumps instantly and lets out a cute sound. 

"Lena for the love of ...." she looks flustered and breathy. Her hand shot up to that of the brunette’s and holds it over her own shoulder. The collisions of both hands send a strong fuzzy feeling running up their skin. A longing oppresses them both. And their grasps tighten such a tiny part of the skin is touching and yet it is both enough and what set on them hunger or thirst neither know which. Their chests now ached 

Hearts pounding.. they realized there was something they wanted but didn’t know how to claim it.

The story betwwen a woman of rare beauty and the painter that wants to cherish her for eternity may just have begun... 


End file.
